hoodlum
Americannoun
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hoodlums
plural
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a thug or gangster.
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a young street ruffian, especially one belonging to a gang.
noun
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a petty gangster or ruffian
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a lawless youth
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of hoodlum
1870–75, probably < dialectal German; compare Swabian derivatives of Hudel rag, e.g. hudelum disorderly, hudellam weak, slack Hudellump ( e ) rags, slovenly, careless person, and related words in other dialects
Explanation
Hoodlums are young people who are involved in crime or generally up to no good. A car full of hoodlums might drive down the street and smash mailboxes with a baseball bat. Hoodlums are into mean stuff like that. If you've ever seen a group of young people who look like trouble, you may have seen a group of hoodlums. Hoodlums are loud, aggressive, and violent. Hoodlums are part of gangs and commit crimes. If a young person robs a store or mugs someone, he’s a hoodlum. The word hoodlum has nothing to do with the hood on a sweatshirt. A hoodlum can also be called a gangster, thug, or toughie. Steer clear!
Vocabulary lists containing hoodlum
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Novel Study: The Outsiders, Chapters 1–5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
George Bratsenis shuffled into a New Jersey courtroom in shackles last month, an old-school hoodlum with thick glasses, white hair and a forearm tattoo.
From New York Times ● Mar. 23, 2022
And now you tell him that you want to turn your life of classical music study behind so that you can rap with that hoodlum Tariq.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2022
In your film, a teacher once said that James would be either a hoodlum or a great entertainer.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2021
"He’s got an edge to him. He looks like a choir boy, but he plays like … a hoodlum," Van Gundy said.
From Fox News ● Jul. 8, 2021
“How would Roy know what a hoodlum like Dana Matherson was up to?”
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
The authorities say the curfew is necessary because "hoodlums" have hijacked the protests in order to loot and vandalise properties.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2024
As with the original, this new version approaches the outlaw life from the perspective of the filthy rich bosses, trying to manage a business staffed by unreliable hoodlums.
From New York Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
For a while, Oliver is on the run from both cops and hoodlums and goes around with a shaved head and a fake mustache, and it’s pretty funny.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 2, 2018
To lock up just those 48 hoodlums and villains costs Bibb County taxpayers roughly $2,400 a day.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 29, 2017
It both frightened and saddened me to see Link among those hoodlums.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
